My All-Chicago Mix, vol. 1

Convergence. Sometime earlier this year I started creating a couple fun new iTunes playlists: “Music By People I Know” and “Chicago Music.” Upon moving to Seattle I stayed with my friend Phil who is famous in his social circles for his mix CDs (he calls them “comps”). The mix playlist below, which I made for Phil back in June, is a direct result of these two events. In the spirit of Thanksgiving and feeling very thankful for the community of great musicians I’m connected to in both Chicago and now Seattle, I thought it would be a fun thing to share.

Making this for Phil was especially fun because we’ve always gone through, track by track, any mix he gave me or I gave him, but this time I had stories and anecdotes for each and every selection! Like, “Rebecca Rego was one of the first musicians I met after moving back to Chicago after college,” and “I met Cameron McGill when we were accidentally playing an all-Chicago-bands set at The Basement in Nashville,” and “Perkasie shouldn’t actually be on this list since they aren’t from Chicago, but they’re the best band we randomly played with on tour in Des Moines, IA and I can’t NOT put this song on.” Good times, good times.

Matt –
Geez, I feel like I just got a mention in the State of the Union !
Good fun, and a reminder to me of the breadth and scope of Music, as practiced and as listened to.
Thank you for all your efforts that have given me so much. You rock.
Or, perhaps I should say: You singer-songwriter.

Hey! I’m Matt!

In May 2010, I moved to Seattle from Chicago. Back in Chicago I was the co-frontman of a pretty successful local band. Upon arriving in Seattle, however, I didn’t know anyone or anything about the local music scene.

This blog started as a means to explore music communities in Seattle, which was a huge personal success. From here on out it will be more personal – more of a creative outlet to help me dig into music that is affecting me. Thanks for reading and sharing these experiences with me. Read More…